Preparation and Start‐Up of Arvida Smelter, AP60 Technological Center

Gariépy, René; Couturier, André; Martin, Olivier; Allano, Bertrand; Machado, A. M.; Charmier, François

doi:10.1002/9781118888438.ch134

Cited by 2 publications

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“…As a result two methods were used to satisfy this demand, either increase the amperage of existing cells, or design new high amperage cells with lower shell surface area per kW of heat generation (Namboothiri, Lavoie, Cotton, Taylor, 2009). Modern smelters operate cells in series under a high electrical current, with the largest cell operating at 600 kA (Gariépy, Couturier, Martin, Allano, Machado, Charmier, 2014). This in conjunction with the rising electricity prices seen in Figure 2, has resulted in smelter electricity costs increasing from 30% to approximately 40% of total production costs (Lavoie et al, 2011).…”

Section: The Need For Energy Stabilisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Demand for aluminium has increased over the last 60 years, this in conjunction with rising Australian energy prices has resulted in aluminium smelter electricity cost increasing. Additionally, within this overall energy price incline there are substantial demand and supply driven price variations for energy during each day. Smelters that rely on the electricity spot price can expect a larger variation in daily prices. Due to these factors, this thesis aims to investigate the impact an amperage reduction has on the heat, electrical and mass balance of a conventional aluminium cell. A specific focus is placed on the relationship between the reduction of electrical inputs and aluminium production. Furthermore, this thesis seeks to understand the suitable economic environment required for the amperage reduction, and the feasibility of the reduction as an energy stabilisation strategy. To achieve the aims of this project a quantitative strategy that involved the development of two models was adopted. One to simulate the heat, energy and mass balance of the cell, and the other to simulate to the economic impacts the reduction has on the cell. To analyse if amperage modulation is an effective energy stabilisation strategy, three types of reductions were tested; a step, staggered step and ramp reduction. These scenarios where tested for a reduction of 10, 15, and 20 kA. These scenarios were then compared by plotting the duration, opportunity cost and power saved. From this, the most viable reduction was selected with the use of weighted decision matrix. From this analysis the 10kA ramp reduction was deemed as the most suitable energy stabilisation strategy. As it saves 115.92 MWhr over a 3 hour period when applied to all 840 cells. Furthermore, this reduction only incurs an opportunity cost of $-33.6 over the same period of time. However, an average peak energy price of 90.17 $/MWhr was used for this analysis. By increasing the energy price and plotting the opportunity cost it was found that this strategy becomes viable when an energy price of 90.47 $/MWhr is reached. Finally, the following points where identified as areas of future study;  Further optimisation of the model can be done by constructing a 3D model that simulates the cell dynamics in more detail.  A similar study could be conducted with the use of heat exchangers to control the heat loss from the cell.

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Section: The Need For Energy Stabilisationmentioning

confidence: 99%